Bird-feeding tips for newcomers

Woodpecker on a tube feeder filled with sunflower seed

A lot of people we see at The Bird House are relative newcomers to the hobby of feeding and tending to the needs of backyard birds. The National Bird-Feeding Society has developed several tips to help novices become better acquainted with the bird-feeding experience. There could be an idea or two that longtime bird watchers may appreciate, too.

• Place feeders in locations where they can readily be seen through a viewing window--a kitchen, a sunporch, a living room or a bedroom, for instance.

• Start with a basic bird-feeding set-up: a tubular feeder filled with black-oil sunflower seed. This seeds attracts a variety of different kinds of birds.

• Add other types of bird seed such as Nyjer in a feeder designed specifically for American Goldfinches or Purple Finches. Or you could try a hopper feeder or a platform feeder filled with a mixture of black-oil sunflower, sunflower chips and peanuts without the shell.

• Set out alternative foods such as suet, fruit, mealworms and nectar to attract an even wider range of bird species. 

• Don't forget water. Birds need water for drinking and bathing.

• Each season of the year, there may be a different suite of species visiting your yard. These bird species may have different bird food and feeder preferences.

• In addition to food and water, birds need nesting boxes (bird houses) and a suitable habitat. Trees or shrubs shelter birds from foul weather or predators.

• Keep your birds safe by protecting them from cats. Watch for bird-window collisions; there are remedies for this problem. 

• Regularly clean your feeders. Birds won't visit an unclean feeder with moldy seed. 

• To learn more about the birds visiting your yard, use the tools of a bird watcher: binoculars and a field guide.

• Keep in mind, there are birds you can't see in your yard no matter how you try. Some birds eat insects or grubs, not seed. Others are rarely seen in populated areas. To see these birds, take a trip to your local, state or national park and explore these natural areas.